Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

We have had two rain delays so far this season that I know of, first in the Denver-Dallas game and again tonight. Is the NFL stopping play now if there is a small chance of lightning, or could this be related to giving the storm a chance to blow over and reducing the chance of sloppy play due to playing in a rainstorm?

What they're most concerned about is lightning striking a section of the field or stands. Even with a small chance, they don't want to risk anything.

In the old days didn't they play thru the storms ? First time i can remember a rain delay or cancellation actually was the last College All-Star game versus the Steelers ?

Oh they will definitely play through a torrential downpour. It's not any issue with that.

I have vivid memories of this mess....

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/27/sport ... 93504.html
https://www.pro-football-reference.com/ ... 260pit.htm

ChrisBabcock wrote:Oh they will definitely play through a torrential downpour. It's not any issue with that.

I have vivid memories of this mess....

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/27/sport ... 93504.html
https://www.pro-football-reference.com/ ... 260pit.htm

My favorite memory of that game was when the football was punted and came down and stuck in the mud.

I also remember the 1994 MNF Halloween game between the Bears and Packers in Chicago was a mess.

In the 2011 college football opener, my Mountaineers were leading Marshall 34-13 early in the fourth quarter, when sudden lightning storms forced play to be postponed. After the storms refused to abate in an hour, the game was called off (and the existing score called a final) despite most of the fourth quarter still remaining to be played. The question of whether the Thundering Herd could have rallied from a 21-point fourth-quarter deficit will forever remain unanswered. Wonder if anything like that scenario could ever happen with an NFL game? Could a regular season NFL game be called with significant time still to play on the clock? Major League Baseball routinely resumes postponed rain-delay games, but I've never heard of any such thing happening in football at any level.

The 1980 HOF game between the Chargers and Pack had a massive downpour and the game was stopped for good with the score 0-0. Another HIF game (2009?) between the Pack and Chiefs was also stopped early because of the wet stuff/lightning.

Rupert Patrick wrote:

ChrisBabcock wrote:Oh they will definitely play through a torrential downpour. It's not any issue with that.

I have vivid memories of this mess....

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/27/sport ... 93504.html
https://www.pro-football-reference.com/ ... 260pit.htm

My favorite memory of that game was when the football was punted and came down and stuck in the mud.

I also remember the 1994 MNF Halloween game between the Bears and Packers in Chicago was a mess.

That was the game they wore throwbacks and Ken Ruettgers put pumpkin decals on his helmet

single wing wrote:In the old days didn't they play thru the storms ? First time i can remember a rain delay or cancellation actually was the last College All-Star game versus the Steelers ?

In the really old days, they would postpone games due to inclement weather. In the days before TV contracts, the ticket sales were everything. Who was going to buy a ticket to sit in a monsoon? So games were sometimes rescheduled.

BD Sullivan wrote:The 1980 HOF game between the Chargers and Pack had a massive downpour and the game was stopped for good with the score 0-0. Another HIF game (2009?) between the Pack and Chiefs was also stopped early because of the wet stuff/lightning.

I believe this was also the case for the last-ever Pro Champs vs. College All-Star game in 1976. But I wonder what would happen in a similar situation with a regular season game that counted.